The Disappeared
by dreaming of rocketships
Summary: "Dumbledore sighed as he looked down at the last name to have been added to the list of 'The Disappeared' just last night. Hannah Dorea Potter." Harry Potter's twin sister is kidnapped in Aug. 1981 and they can't find her. (Expect major time skip with flashbacks). Set as if Fiore was in our world, just another country. No pairings yet but may be later.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I do own everyone/thing you don't.**

**AN:** **I'm sure many of you get those moments when you just can't shake an idea until you write it down (for me they usually disappear after I start writing but that's another story). Well, this is one of those times. So I now present to you the start of a Harry Potter and Fairy Tail crossover. It will obviously be more leaning towards Harry Potter.**

**Word Count: 1713**

* * *

**The Disappeared**

**Chapter 1**

**Those That Remember**

Albus Dumbledore frowned as Darius Cuervo, a youthful wizard not a day over forty representing the American Grand Council, delivered his plea. This on its own was a rare occurrence because unlike the muggles, American wizards were well known for cleaning up their own messes and quite effectively. But this case was not one that could be fixed on their own. Their children, innocent children were being taken on a daily basis. Already over fifty children had gone missing from their homes in the past two weeks. Fifty in North America alone. Another twelve were missing from France, six from Egypt, fifty-eight from various South American countries, seven from Spain, a hundred and three from India, thirteen from Russia, and an alarming twenty-six from his own Britain.

Cuervo's success was only partially due to his heartfelt speech. The rest lay on the fact that the wizards in the ICW were scared. No one knew where the children were though there was a speculation on why they were taken. The sacrifice of children was a common practice in necromancy and though the art had been outlawed some two-hundred years prior to the establishment of the International Statute of Secrecy, no one there was foolish enough to believe that no one practiced in secret. Dumbledore had to admit that there were some in his homeland who used that darkest branch of magic such as the self-named Lord Voldemort who he still referred to as Tom Riddle.

When the phenomena first began, everyone blamed the Dark Lord. That is until Aries Lestrange, the first-born son of Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange vanished from his very well-warded nursery. Some considered it a fluke; maybe the Lestranges had upset their Lord. Then Castor Black, the only son of the late Regulus Black, Disappeared. Naysayers would have continued to voice their doubts but those known to be Death Eaters (though there wasn't enough evidence for conviction) began to demand investigations. More children of both sides continued to disappear and the _Daily Prophet_ dubbed it the kidnapped children _The Disappeared_.

Two years and twenty-six children later and the wizards of the ICW were meeting for the first time to exclusively discuss the worldwide phenomena. Everyone had wanted to solve the mystery by themselves but it was quickly becoming obvious that this was not a viable option. Which left them with collaboration. It was getting nowhere. After Cuervo's speech, the chamber in which the ICW convened dissolved into a large and rather impressive display of pointing fingers. In a room filled with wizards of such high caliber, it came as no surprise to him that some of the duels taking place before him would have been worthy of history books.

Perhaps he should call for order now. He was after the Supreme Mugwump of this organization. He sighed as he looked down at the last name to have been added to the list of _The Disappeared_ just last night from his own country. He brought the gavel down thrice before glancing back down. _Hannah Dorea Potter._

* * *

Lily Potter cried softly as she clung to a floppy, black, stuffed dog that Sirius had bought for his goddaughter. Hannah had loved it. The grieving mother couldn't count on her hands and toes how many times she'd have to wrench the poor toy away before the one year old could drench it in her bath water. She also couldn't count the number of times Hannah had succeeded. The child had been very much like her father, James Potter. Persistent.

_Had been_. A rookie Auror who was now working what was once James's case told Lily and her husband not to get their hopes up but to understand that they were likely never going to see their daughter again. For all intents and purposes Hannah Potter was dead and the faster that they accepted that the better off they would be. Lily had never seen James so angry in her life. The Auror was terrified and he'd fled the house. Good.

That was three hours ago. James was with Harry; it was an unspoken agreement that one of them or their trusted friends (Sirius, Remus, or Peter) would remain with Harry at all times. Many parents had taken to doing the very same thing since the phenomena started. Lily wished they had done so as well. Hannah would still be with them if they had. They had been foolish and neglectful.

Hannah would miss the stuffed dog – Pads, that's what she called it. She would probably miss her twin brother as well. The two had never been apart for so long. Would she miss her mummy, too? And her daddy? Lily almost scoffed. Of course she would miss James. With how much he played with her she'd be surprised if Hannah wasn't sobbing as much as Lily was.

She's crying! Who was comforting her? Were they singing the lullaby that calmed her? Or running their hand through her soft black locks? Did they care at all that her baby was missed? That her baby didn't even have Pads to keep her company?

* * *

Harry was quiet, too quiet. It was like he knew. Well, he did know, James supposed. He probably knew more than anyone else. After all, Harry had been in the room with Hannah. They shared the nursery. But they'd only taken Hannah and Harry had been left as the sole witness. A witness too young to tell his dad what he'd seen. It was frustrating! James took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair.

They had the worst luck, didn't they? First the prophecy and now this. With all the preparations for Voldemort, James hadn't even stopped to consider that their children could become one of the _The Disappeared_. They were paying for that lack of foresight. And perhaps their arrogance? To think that they could escape Fate unscathed! Here's a wake-up call, James.

Damn it, if he didn't pull himself together soon the whole family could fall apart. He had to focus, he had to be strong for Lily and Harry. And for Hannah. Because he knew that the Auror was wrong. His Hannah was out there somewhere and still alive. He could feel it and Harry could. They had that twin connection, didn't they?

But Harry was so quiet. The infant was usually so active. But at the moment Harry was just staring at the wall which had paint splattered on it from Hannah's first and last painting excursion. The boy's birthday broom lay forgotten on the floor where James had placed it for him. James couldn't blame the boy for not wanting to cause any mayhem in the house. If Harry didn't realize that Hannah was missing he certainly realized that the house was awfully quiet.

James started humming and thrumming his fingers on this head where his hand still lay. Then he stood up. Harry glanced up at him and watched as he made his way to the radio. James turned the dial and the sound Kansas filled the living room. Harry gazed at him as James sang along, drowning out the silence. "I hear the voices when I'm dreaming/ I can hear them say: Carry on my wayward son/ There'll be peace when you are done/ Lay your weary head to rest/ Don't you cry no more!"

* * *

The rookie Auror who James Potter had chased from his home in a towering rage, was now nursing a cold draft at the Hogshead. He wasn't sure what to do about the case. The only witness to Hannah Potter's kidnapping had been her twin brother, a child still too young to make a reliable identification if he could even talk. Admittedly the Auror never got the chance to find out since he'd had to open his big mouth. He meant well but no one had ever accused Rufus Scrimgeour of having tact or bedside manner. That's exactly what the Potter household had felt like, too. The bedside of a dying relative. And he should know; he'd been there before.

What was he supposed to do now, though? Whoever these people were, they were doing a good job of covering their tracks and they weren't using magic to get in and out of the homes. James Potter had checked himself and had been checking each time since the phenomena became a Ministry issue a year and a half prior. Of course Rufus had checked as well; a precaution to ensure his superiors couldn't say he wasn't doing his job. The only thing he had to go on were rumors, and Merlin did he get a lot of those.

The predominant theory was a system of resurrection towers. Rufus wasn't sure how they worked but the idea, called the R-System, was that a tower could be built and resurrect an undead army within a certain radius of it. The fuel for the R-System? Human sacrifice. The trouble with this theory however, was that although all countries within the ICW were looking, not a single tower had been found. Even if these rumors were true, which was frighteningly looking like it was, there was nothing that could be done.

Rufus supposed it was easy enough to use a Fidelius Charm to hide the towers. Extra precautions like removing the locations from maps, using Unplottable Charms and notice-me-nots, adding wards, and only moving about sparingly would make these places almost impossible to find. It wouldn't be the first time whole buildings and towns would disappear. Camelot and Avalon, anyone?

These thoughts, however, did nothing to help him with this case. Whoever they were, they had to slip up sometime and that one mistake was all that Rufus needed to bring them – whoever they were – down and bring those kids back home to their parents. In the meantime, Rufus would finish his beer and try not to shiver at the thought of crossing wands with James Potter. He'd been jealous of the man for getting promoted so quickly but now he saw that it was a position well-earned. The bad guys would need more than that undead army if they had a hope of stopping Potter once he finds where she was. And Rufus had no doubt that he would.

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**AN 2: Some of you will probably be wondering if this story is totally AU or not. The answer is that it's not. Events will play out almost exactly as in canon (pre-Hogwarts canon that is). Voldemort attacks, Potters die, Lestranges & Sirius go to Azkaban, Harry will be sent to Dursleys, Pettigrew goes into hiding with Weasleys, etc, etc. Reason I'm telling you this now is that I'm not planning on showing any of that. Next chapter is 10 years later.**

**Hope you enjoyed it. R&R if you want!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own much in this chapter except the OCs. The rest go to Hiro Mashima's fantastic world of Fairy Tail. Enjoy! **

**Word Count: 1,753**

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**The Disappeared**

**Chapter Two**

**Freedom to Remember**

Xenon gazed up at the Tower of Heaven with wide hazel eyes. From the beach where the ships were currently docked - waiting to take them all back to Fiore - the Tower actually seemed to go all the way to God's kingdom. But she knew it didn't. She knew because her whole life had been devoted to constructing this beauty. She paused in this observation and studied it with narrowed eyes and a tilted head before nodding. She was satisfied. _Beautiful_, she amended, _on the inside and it's what's inside that counts_.

Jellal had told her that ages ago when she'd proposed that they turned the whole building pink. She shuddered at the thought now, but when she was six (which was an eternity ago) she'd been adamant about it. He'd offered to paint her room pink instead, and she agreed but refused to paint the Tower at all.

"_Why not, Jellal? It'll be sooo pretty!" A six year old version of Xenon had asked, her raven hair spilling out of a sloppy bun as she bounced onto the tips of her toes. _

_The teen laughed and ruffled her hair affectionately. "It would be, but do you really want the whole thing to be pink?" _

"_Yes!" _

"_And why's that?"_

"_So it'll be beautiful, duh!" _

"_It's already beautiful." For a moment, Jellal's gaze drifted up to the incomplete Tower and analyzed the work they'd done so far. "Very beautiful and even more so on the inside. And it's the inside that counts." _

_Xenon pouted and looked up at her idol with round, watery eyes. "But it's not pink. Please!" _

_Jellal's lip quirked upwards before he returned his eyes to her. "How about we paint your room pink? Would you be alright with that?" _

"_Really?! You would really do that?!" She asked, excited and terribly surprised at the same time as she literally jumped for joy. _

_He nodded and smiled as Millianna came barreling forward. "Don't forget the itty bitty kitties!"_

"_Of course not!" he responded, looking hurt at the suggestion that he would. _

The Tower of Heaven may have started as a prison and a work camp but it became a home. Her best friends were made there and some of her favorite memories took place as she worked on the Tower's construction. _It was hard work but it was worth every moment of it_ she thought as she pulled her eyes off the Tower and towards her friends who very much like her were staring at the Tower and remembering. Her eyes found Millianna and Sho. Both of them were staying.

Honestly, she was just a little jealous. They were about three years older than her, maybe a little more so they both were more useful she guessed. But still, it wasn't fair. She didn't want to leave and she had magic too even if it wasn't on their level yet. Maybe if Jellal had paid more attention to her and helped her like he helped them then –

There she was again being a selfish brat. They'd put a lot of work into being as unique as they were, Xenon admitted taking in Millianna's cat ears. They found their own magic and Jellal had helped them develop it in his spare time, which wasn't much. He was a busy man; after all, he was trying to get them to Heaven. Xenon didn't have her own brand of magic yet even though she'd been trying so hard to control it. She'd seen what happened when Erza Scarlet lost control and it had left an impression on her. Imagine if the whole Tower came crashing down!

Anyway, Xenon wasn't ready to go to Heaven. She couldn't wait to see the rest of the world. She wanted to smell a forest, walk down a city street, climb a mountain, throw a snowball, maybe even...fall in love? That was still a long time away even if she was already in love. Xenon sighed as she kicked a stray rock. Perhaps in a few years, if he didn't forget about her. She'd made him a present, a crafted chess set. He seemed to like and she'd gotten a hug and ruffled hair. _Honestly! Boys sometimes! _

"Are you ready, Zee?" Xenon looked around to her brother. With his fiery red hair and golden eyes, he'd earned the name Phoenix. Fittingly, most of the magic that escaped his control was fire magic. Jellal had offered to let him stay with the others and being a couple years older than her, he could have probably accepted. But he hadn't. _"Who's going to look after Zee if I stay?"_ _he answered_.

She nodded. "I'm ready," she responded after taking a deep breath and then following Phoenix onto the deck of a clean ship. Others of various ages were already on the ship. These were the people who became her family. Aunt Clara, Uncle Eric, Brother Brigham, Brother Castor, Gramps, and Gran Suzy. They all remembered a time before they were taken, however vaguely that might be. In a way, this made them less fortunate than herself because she didn't know who her parents were. Neither did Phoenix or Castor but age played only a small part in that.

Xenon and Phoenix took a seat and watched as more of their family drifted onto the ship in small groups. The kids looked none too pleased with being forced out of their home. The adults were alternating between comforting the little ones and celebrating with each other. _Freedom, they cried. Finally, we're free_. They could be happy but they weren't alone. They could go back to their real families; and what were they going to do? The kids, she meant.

Would the eighteen of them that were left be able to find a new home? She only vaguely recalled a time when they were slaves. A time when food was scarce, the cells were cold, the clothes merely old rags. The men from that had kidnapped them were cruel and forced them to work long hours. Xenon, like the others her age were too young too fight back and those that tried were harshly punished. But in a way it was all right. She didn't have the memories of a warm fire to curl up around, or a family who loved her unconditionally. No, all of that became a reality after Jellal and Erza freed them.

When the way back to land had been destroyed (thanks to a large burst of accidental magic from Erza), Jellal had offered them a home in the Tower. It would be a home that they created, a home that they could share happily.

"_Of course it will take time. But we can do it!" Jellal declared his eyes bright and the sun shining on him. He was like a godsend, a messenger, an angel. The adults looked at each other, their surprise evident. But Xenon only noticed it in hindsight. At that moment her attention was riveted on the blue haired figure standing on a boulder with his hand raised. And before she could check herself, before she could even think about anything else like leaving that tiny, desolate island and the skeleton of the Tower that stood before them, she'd raised her little fist into the air and shouted her agreement. Others joined in. Jellal had looked at her then and smiled and Xenon knew she would do anything to make him smile at her like that again. _

It took them months to make the Tower livable but they'd done it and now she was leaving for the unknown. She supposed if there was a way to survive, it would be to find a guild. Fiore was filled with them and if she could find just one that would accept her – no, accept them; she wasn't alone – then they would be all right. They could share a place, somewhere big enough for all of them, until they were old enough to go off on their own or until they could get back to the people who lost them in the first place.

Gramps had spoken of the different guilds, none of which he could join because he didn't have magic. But those that could do magic banded together and helped whoever couldn't. Xenon always thought that was nice but then Gramps had told her of more barbaric countries whose magical populations hid who they were from the non-magical.

"_Fiore, unlike those places, was made for people like you and people who come families like ours," Gramps explained. "Some people from magical families come out like me. We can't do magic ourselves but can't imagine ourselves living in a world without it. So we've moved into an isolated area, away from those without magic and who don't believe in magic. Soon enough people with magic were born into the community and the perfect country was born with them." _

"_How come there are people who don't believe in magic?" Xenon asked. _

"_'Cause their stupid, stupid!" another girl exclaimed. _

"_That's mean, Beryl. They can't all be that word!" _

_Gramps chuckled as Beryl scoffed. "Indeed they can't, child. But people only believe what they wish to. It is after all the power of belief and strength of will that fuels magic. However, for those who do not have the capability to perform magic, it is easy enough to believe that it does not exist and they ignore all all signs proving otherwise." _

"_See? Stupid." _

"_Fiore sounds nice," Xenon sighed. _

"_It is and I'm sure that the guilds in Fiore will be happy to take you children in when the time is right."_

_Beryl eyes narrowed in thought as she contemplated this before finally asking, "Gramps, when will the time be right for us?" _

"_When we are free." _

Freedom. Freedom in Fiore. To believe that though meant that everything she'd learned from Jellal was wrong and yet...it felt right. The ramp onto the ship was removed, the anchor lifted and a bell sounded. The ship was setting sail for Hargeon's harbor. She glanced back towards the island which was quickly becoming a distant but looming monument on the horizon and on it she could imagine Jellal, standing on the same boulder, the breeze blowing his blue hair, sunlight making him glow as he raised his hand in the air. For freedom!

* * *

**AN: I have to admit I was surprised by the F&F's. I honestly didn't expect them but thank you guys! I'm glad you liked it enough or were curious enough to F/F. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. Oh, just in case you were wondering she is 10 at this time. The next chapter she'll be in Hargeon or somewhere close by with her friends. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: So, not much in the way of Harry Potter universe going on here except for one thing but definitely in Fairy Tail universe. Saturated in it actually. **

**Word Count: 2,125**

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**The Disappeared**

**Chapter Three**

**Little Red-Handed Thief**

_In. Left. Out. Right._

Fiore had not been what Xenon envisioned. She had imagined precious jewels glittering in golden statues, fountains filled with wish-granting coins, streets lined with successful shops, and happy people. She had expected a peaceful world.

_In. Left. Out. Right._

Instead, she found statues made of gray stone or sometimes bronze, people fishing for coins to buy a meal, more streets with apartment buildings (many in disrepair) than businesses, and people just trying to get by. She found a restless world.

_In. Left. Out. Right. _

After docking at Hargeon Harbor most of the adults had dispersed. They made their way to the city's nearest exit and set off down the roads towards their old homes. Some though had stayed casting Xenon and her friends wary looks and tried to decide amongst themselves how to handle the situation. They hadn't stayed long, though.

_In. Left. Out. Right. _

The older kids tried to find a place to live in the city but reality hit them faster than a speeding train. Hargeon was too expensive for them to stay in. They were hungry. There were no jobs that they could do here. There were no guilds in Hargeon and there was only a single shop which sold wizarding gear. They had to move on.

_In. Left. Out. Right. _

So here she was. Oak Town had until recently been the seat of Phantom Lord guild but several months before the guild had been disbanded and the town vacated by the remaining members. Since then the old castle town had fallen into the clutches of smaller bands of people not all of whom followed the strict rules set up by Era.

_In. Left. Out. Right. _

Xenon's hair flicked over her shoulder as she turned her head to look behind as best she could. The heavy backpack thudded against her tailbone. It had been foolish to steal from this dark, albeit small and unimpressive, guild. But they were hungry. The men following her were starting to lag behind so she picked up the pace.

_In. Left. Out. In. Right. Out. _

Is this the freedom that Gramps meant? The freedom to starve? To freeze? To fail?

_In. Left. Right. Out. In. In. Out. Left. _

"Stop right there, brat! Don't you take another step!" They sounded further away than before. She chanced another glance back to see that she was correct. She was exhausted though and each breath was more difficult to draw in. Xenon faced forward again her expression shifting from fear to determination. She needed to get home.

_In. Out. In. Left. Out. In. Right. _

Her family was counting on her to bring them food. Aries, Beryl, Brigham, and Phoenix were sick. The winter had fallen hard on them and mixed with the hunger... They needed the to get better and they needed her to help them. Gran Suzy, the only adult to stay with them, was caring for them as best she could but she had needed Castor and Xenon to get more food.

"Thief! Somebody stop her!" one of the men shouted, his voice a little louder than a moment ago. "She's a thief!"

Unacceptable.

_In. Out. Left. In. Right. Out. _

A knight who had only heard the man's call and knew nothing about her sick family moved forward into the street in an attempt to stop her. She would be caught if she didn't stop. She would be caught if she did. She needed to get home, though. Her pace increased as she pelted straight towards the knight.

_In. Left. Out. Right. _

The knight reached out to grab her. No, she needed to be home and there was no way he was going to stop her.

A resounding snap and the knight closed his arms around thin air. The little thief with raven hair and determined hazel was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Xenon sucked in a breath of air as she pitched forward before a wiry pair of arms encircled her and helped her regain balance. She opened her eyes to a rather large but bare room. A single mattress lay in between a threadbare sofa and a crackling fireplace with a large pot on a grate above the flames. Beyond the mattress and directly across from her was a door leading into the apartment's sole bathroom.

Somehow, she had managed to not only evade the knight and the guild members but to get home. Gran released her, hobbled to the sofa, and sank into it with a sigh. "Strange how magic appears, sometimes," Gran said. "It always comes when one needs it the most. Which makes me wonder, what happened today, Xenon? Did you get some food?"

"Yes, Gran. I think I did, at least." Xenon pulled off her backpack, unzipped it, and peered in to find the food perfectly in tact. "Yep, it's all here." She walked over to the couch and plopped down before passing the full backpack to Gran.

Gran smiled as she took the bag from Xenon and quickly glanced at one of the lumps on the mattress who was coughing before nodding. "Now, why don't you tell me what happened? And where is Cass?"

"He went down to the forest to get some meat. We split up on the main road and I went into town to look for bread, milk, and spices..."

_She didn't know why she had to go to town for anything. There was a small farm with a generous and hospitable_ _family close by. But Cass insisted that she go into Oak's center. So, she did. The problem presented itself as she looked at the groceries on the shelves. "50 jewels for a loaf of bread?! Are they crazy?" Xenon rattled her pocket doing a mental count. "I don't have anywhere near enough. I only have 25 jewels." _

_So, deciding to do the smart thing she surreptitiously glanced at the store clerk to find him watching her with suspicion. Defeated, she changed her mind and walked out of the store empty-handed. That left her with very limited options. She could beg for some money but she already knew that was pointless. Oak Town wasn't exactly renowned for its caring nature. Xenon did anyway, and did a little better than expected. A stranger had given her 100 jewels. Her thanks was waved away and she ran into the store to purchase the essentials. A loaf of bread, a wedge of cheese, and a jug of milk. _

_That covered half of her list. The herbs however, would be more challenging. She began to walk towards the apothecary when she overheard a couple men speaking. _

"_There's lots of stuff at the old guild hall." _

"_Probably guarded too." _

"_No, those Phantom Lord guys just left everything. It's all up for grabs." _

"_Think we can find anything useful?" _

"_We can take everything and sort through them back at headquarters." _

_One of the men nodded and then looked around him before leaning forward some more to 'whisper.' "Can you imagine all the money they left behind? That guild was number one in Fiore. They were loaded." _

"_Maybe we should keep that part to ourselves." They guffawed and moved away not towards Phantom Lord's guild hall but to the opposite end of the alley they were standing in. A door was hanging open and disjointed music and laughter flowed out, echoing off the alley way's wooden walls. Xenon was well aware that this neighborhood was shady to say the least and didn't follow. Instead, she faced the old castle and allowed her feet to bring her forward. _

_Money would be nice to find but better still would be medicine. They could definitely use that. She wasn't sure what the chances of finding them were but it was worth a try. _

_A few minutes later Xenon was in the strange castle. It felt a bit lopsided, like someone had moved it and decided it wasn't even worth fixing and she remembered the rumors she had heard about this castle. The locals had said it moved and had at one point been in the bay near Magnolia Town. Xenon didn't know whether to believe them or not but maybe it was true. She looked around and then pulled out the small flashlight Gran had given her from her backpack. _

_The beam caught specks of dust that her footsteps upset but other than that and the dim light flickering through the dirty window panes, there was no movement. She tried not to imagine ghosts popping up at every corner and made her way through the castle checking each room for anything of value. What she found in the first room with anything worth taking wasn't medicine but books with weird shapes written in them. She stuffed as much as she could into the backpack before moving on and ignoring everything that wasn't food or medicine. _

_Her persistence was rewarded sometime later when she opened the heavy door to the storeroom. She headed straight for a cabinet in the far corner where logic told her she would find the medicine and medicine it was. Medicinal potions and herbs. Perfect. These were shoved into her bag, the bread in its bag now held in her hand. _

_She moved on to the shelves which had some canned vegetables and pickled fruits. These she also put into her bag. Or rather, as much as she could in the limited space she had. She could have taken more if Cass would have just come with her. Sighing she put the bread on top of the food stuffs and then zipped it up. _

_That's when she heard them. It was impossible not to. They were singing a silly sailor's song. _

_When I come back from a mighty quest  
I have no need for sleep or rest  
I head to a tavern for a drink  
And get so drunk I cannot think  
A wench by my side, a jug of mead  
These are the things that I most need  
So I sit back and sing this song  
And drink and party all night long_

_It didn't take a genius to understand what they were singing about and it only took an instant to realize that these men would be coming in her direction. There were tons of rooms but only one passage so far. That meant that they'd probably see her if she tried to leave. She could hide, but there weren't many places to do so. _

_Which meant that she had to run. Hopefully they wouldn't give her much chase and there was plenty in here to loot anyway, she hadn't taken much of anything with value. With that decided, Xenon waited until they went into the nearest room to her and took off down the passage. _

_She realized what a bad decision she had made when the first spell sizzled on the wall next to her head. The men, the same two she had seen less than two hours ago discussing this very castle, were not drunk as she had thought. But they were certainly angry if the dark spells sailing over her shoulder were any indication. Moments later she realized that they were part of the local dark guild and moments after that she emerged into the blinding sunlight. The sting of a low-powered spell brought her out of her hesitation and she booked it once more. _

_She didn't stop running even when she had seen the knight. They would take everything from her if they caught her and she couldn't allow that to happen. Not after all that she had found. She clamped her eyes shut expecting to hit the cold armor. But as she reached the knight something weird had happened. The world had squeezed itself around her and then she felt as if she was stretched and wrung like a blanket after laundry. _

"And when I opened my eyes again, I was home!" Xenon explained happily, bouncing a little on the couch as she did so. "It was the weirdest thing ever."

Gran nodded again with a her own bright smile. "It sounds, my dear, as if you Apparated."

"I'll have to try again one day," Xenon announced. "Maybe that's unique for me, you know? Like something I'm really good at and can use!"

"Perhaps, but first we have to get the others sorted out, don't you think?" Xenon only nodded as Gran made her way over to the mattress with a potion vial in her hand. She could save that little adventure for another time. Right now, she had things to do such as preparing a plate of food for them.

* * *

**AN: Out of curiosity, does anyone know what happened to the old Phantom Lord guild hall? I have it here returned to Oak Town but it seems unlikely since at least one of Element 4 who controlled it left. At any rate, there you go. The longest chapter so far (not that that's saying much) after a longish wait. Thanks for all the Follows and Favs. Once again, review if you want!  
**

**AN2: Also, the verse there is actually from a song. Wenches and Meade by Alestorm. Worth a listen if you like metal...Pirate metal! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. **

**Word Count: 2,406**

* * *

**The Disappeared**

**Chapter 4**

**To Learn Magic**

Oak Town was too small. That fact became apparent when Xenon was next sent to the market nearly two weeks after her little adventure. In those two weeks Xenon had practiced Apparation until a thoroughly fed up Aries had thrown a book at her in between what she referred to as "jumps." The book (one of the tomes that she'd rescued) landed true. It had hurt so she stopped Apparating every few feet. But this didn't satisfy Gran who was trying to sleep. So she got sent to the market and was once again running for her life. Yep, Oak Town was way too small.

The men who had chased her were in the store buying basic supplies or something and had recognized her after two distrustful stares. Why they cared, she never got to ask because one moment she was browsing the shelves trying to pretend she didn't remember them, and the next she was dodging a spell and ducking out the door. She hadn't even had time to assess what type of wizards they were. But it didn't matter much because she knew what type of witch she was.

She had tried to Apparate and then she realized that one of them, who was threw her a smug grin, was definitely a holder-type and the card he was using didn't allow for magical forms of escape. Her own momentary self-assured grin melted away and she knew that she was well and truly –

"For crying out loud, Zee, RUN!" Not alone!

"You gotcha!" Xenon ran as Phoenix and Castor saved her from certain death. Bursts of fiery light flashed behind her and she knew from the "Oomph!" that Phoenix has landed a blow. Castor followed up with a burst of wind that sent the guy soaring into a merchant's tomato cart. She grinned as she turned back to her task of escaping. The two would neutralize the threat in no time but, as the weaker of the three, she had to make sure she was out of the way and safe.

When she couldn't hear the skirmish anymore, she slowed and looked around her. She was just a five minute walk to the house they shared with another family who lived downstairs. Which gave her five minutes to brood on the fact that she was completely useless. She couldn't protect herself much less Gran and the others. Sure the others could defend themselves well enough and Gran wielding a frying pan was nothing to scoff at. She had wicked aim and more strength than most people gave the frail old woman credit for.

But she was forever a liability. Two weeks and all she could do was jump around from one spot to another. It had helped that one time but it was impractical in battle. Of course, she had been studying from those books. Turns out they were all about magic and some of them were about a branch called Runes. It was interesting but how would that help her out here? Answer: it wouldn't because she couldn't activate Runes while she was fighting members of a dark guild. It wasn't like she could say "Hold on a minute while I write, incant, and activate a Runic Array to defeat you guys! – Thanks, all done. Buh-bye now!"

Xenon giggled before shaking her head. That definitely wouldn't work, but if she could somehow attach the Runic Arrays to something then she could just incant and activate them. It was a good idea but she didn't know how she would be able to do something like that. She opened the door and stepped inside and then headed up the stairs to their apartment. If only the dark guild would leave the town then there wouldn't be a problem at all. If only she could get the next edition to the Rune book and also some other reading materials. They were running out and Oak Town didn't even have a bookstore much less a library.

* * *

Castor breathed out a sigh as he and Phoenix reached the door to the house. Up until now the two had been silent. This was normal for them of course. One would think that being about the same age they would have something to speak of. But their conversations were often stilted and always about the welfare of their family. Brigham and Beryl preferred idleness, Gran Suzy did most of the housework but she was well-on in years, and Xenon was the baby. That left most of the protecting and the procuring to the two of them.

Which was why Castor now spoke. "We need to leave. Those guys remember Xenon; they'll remember us as well." Phoenix nodded but remained silent, golden eyes fixed on the road they'd just traveled down. "The current state of affairs can't be allowed to continue." Finally, Phoenix's eyes snapped to his own.

"What do you mean?"

"Xenon is, quite frankly, a problem. There's nothing she can do except to jump around the house like a cricket..." Castor fought urge to grin at the comparison. "A magical, vanishing cricket but a cricket nonetheless. To say Jellal would be disappointed is an understatement."

Phoenix raised a fiery brow and, Castor noted, was already on the defensive. "So what are you suggesting we do? Leave and then abandon her? If so, you can stop right there. It's not hap – "

"Don't be stupid," Castor interrupted. "I was suggesting we start training her or try to find her a master if we can't." Castor coughed before nodding resolutely and then continued. "Which we can't. We can still use the help of masters ourselves and have no business teaching someone else anything. It'll only get her hurt if we try to train her."

The other boy's stance relaxed and he nodded. "We move on then. It's not safe here and anyone who could be called a master already left. That leaves us with very few options because there would have to be wizards there."

"I was thinking of Magnolia Town. There are plenty of people there who know magic and then there's the guild we can get into."

"Fairy Tail? Are you insane? We can't just walk in there and expect them to take us in! They're the top guild in Fiore – "

"Which they didn't become by turning away people who needed help and who had potential," Castor cut in. "And we have potential. Besides, Erza is there! Do you really think she won't help us?"

Phoenix scoffed. "Isn't she the one who betrayed us? Why would she suddenly decide to part with her spare time to help a bunch of us now? She didn't want anything to do with us before; she even destroyed our way home all those years ago."

"And that was years ago. She's sure to have changed since then. And it wasn't her fault that the ships exploded. She didn't know how to control her magic yet. We've all been there. You know what it's like to break things by mistake, even if it was important." Phoenix flushed at the reminder but nodded. "Then it's settled. We start packing tonight and we'll set out for Magnolia in the morning." Again Phoenix simply nodded and pushed open the door.

It wasn't until they had been in the apartment for ten minutes, looking for bags or suitcases that Phoenix noticed the distinct lack of...something. He shook his head before digging through the closet once more when it hit him. He spoke over the sound of Brigham and Beryl arguing, over the clanging of pots and pans that Gran was packing, and over the running water from the bathroom. "Isn't it quiet in here?"

Aries looked up from the cauldron of stew on the grate before looking around and asked the very question that had been tumbled from Phoenix's mouth. "Where's Xenon?"

* * *

Xenon was proud of herself. She had actually managed to Apparate to the old castle and her hair was all one color! A rather strange side-effect of Apparating that Beryl had pointed out a week into Xenon's practice sessions. But all of that was besides the point. This point was that she had successfully sneaked out of the house and then Apparated here. What she had failed to realize is that it was dark. The bag she had taken was also probably not deep enough to carry all the books she wanted from the castle. She also wouldn't be able to see what titles she was taking so once again it would be an eclectic group of books she'd be taking.

She should have made trips here over the weeks she thought as she made her way up the steps and slipped into the castle's open door. She spirited down the passage and froze when she heard the unmistakable sounds of more people than she could handle not far away. Luckily, the room of books was closer to the door but she would have to stay out of sight and keep quiet. She made it to the room and unzipped her bag slowly, stopping when there was a lull of sound. It was dark but the moon shining through the window gave her enough light to see the silhouettes of the books and in some cases the gilded or embossed titles.

Ancient Runes books, she noted, tended to be decorated more than others with raised Runes on the front. These she targeted first and was rather disappointed to discover there were only six of them. Seven if she included the one she had at home. After some thought she grabbed some books on crafting, metallurgy, elemental magic, celestial magic, the history of magic, and finally on divination. All in all, it was a good haul. She had a total of 15 books and had even managed to fit them all in the bag. She hadn't been caught even after she had closed it and swung it over her shoulders.

Feeling confidant in her thieving abilities Xenon crept to the door, opened it a crack, stuck her head out, looked up and down the passage and then slipped out and instead of heading towards the open exit, she went further down the hall and slowly eased into a much better lit room. There was no one in there at the moment which gave her the courage to deeper into the room she had discovered. The armory. She wasn't sure why this castle had one that was still stocked but she wasn't going to complain.

She picked up a belt as she passed it and tied it to her waist before selecting three ruby-encrusted daggers with gold hilts, sheathing them and fastening them to the belt. She moved on and eyed the sword hanging on the wall. Xenon knew Phoenix would have so much fun with that. So, after glancing towards the door and ensuring she was alone she carefully picked her way towards it and plucked it from the wall. It came off easily but she nearly tripped over the full armor set behind her.

No one came as it rattled gently. It wouldn't do to push her luck, she decided. She began to make her trek back towards the door when another weapon of sorts caught her eye.

She sidled closer to it and made out it's complete form. It was a silver rod (whether it was silver or not was another story, one she couldn't confirm at this distance). She moved a little closer and could just make out the ends. Closer still and the in the light she could see that there was a swirling blue design that seemed to pulse the nearer she got. Another few steps and she could make out that the ends were in fact glowing. Another steps and another angle of the light revealed two rows of a dark stone liberally streaked with a color greatly resembling orange or tan on each end. She had to get closer to know for sure though.

So she did. She picked her way through the various things left on the floor and to the table that the rod was over. It was on a rack behind the table. A table she knew she would have to climb on top of. Which she did with some difficulty as the equipment she was carrying weighed her down. But she made it and even managed to navigate a path around the china dishes on the table. _What was this thing even doing in the armory?_ Then she reached up and pulled the rod. Only it didn't budge. She tugged again to no avail.

There was a lull in the noise outside and then the sound of footsteps followed by laughter which was drawing closer. She held her breath and stilled as the voice became distinguishable from others.

"Hey, what idiot left the light on in the store-room? You guys know the boss doesn't like wasting the torches. Oil is getting expensive these days." The man entered the room but she knew he didn't see her. There was after all a mountain of junk blocking the door. He fumbled around and then the room was covered in darkness. As he stepped back towards the exit, he kicked something which rolled away from him. "Damn room's a mess," he muttered leaving and closing the door with a snap behind him.

Xenon waited until his steps were swallowed by the noise outside, now muted by the door. She released a sigh and squinted her eyes in the moonlit room to try to make out what was keeping the rod in place. Then she saw them. Clips on each end of the rod. She moved to the first and unsnapped it before moving to the second and doing the same with one hand and holding the rod in the other. The weight of the rod (which wasn't much considering it was metal) was reassuring, the pulsing light now became a gentle hum in her hands, and the metal was pleasantly warm to the touch.

She stepped back and hopped off the table only to land on the stone floor with a crash. The gentle buzz of people outside stopped before as did she. _This_, she thought, _could end badly_.

* * *

**AN: Once again, thanks for reading, F/F. **


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